The First Time Ever She
by notjaneausten
Summary: Day 1 of the 30 Day Challenge posted by Rhinozilla, USS CARYL. My little take on the first time Carol heard Daryl laugh.


The First Time Ever She ….

**Saw his face** ….was the day he and his brother arrived at the quarry camp; they bartered their way in with a sack of rabbits and several squirrels. He had been content to let Merle do all the talking, hanging back and leaning against his truck. It was Andrea that had pointed the younger brother out to Amy; Carol had the misfortune of passing the RV just as the younger sister Amy whistled out in admiration. Daryl had whirled around at the sound but only saw Carol as both Andrea and her sister had suddenly vanished into the RV. His dark blue eyes bored into her own paler blue ones and Carol felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment as she wondered whether he thought she had been the one whistling over at him. Their strange connection was only broken by her husband, Ed, grasping hold of her arm tightly and pulling her back to their tent. Had she remained near the RV she would have seen Daryl's face twist into a grimace at the sight of her being manhandled and his gravelly enquiry of _'Who's the asshole?'_.

**Heard his voice**… was the afternoon that he offered to show her how to skin and prepare a squirrel for cooking. Carol and the other women had been taking it in turns to prepare the meals for the camp; and Daryl had deliberately waited until it was Carol's turn to offer his assistance. The low pitched gravelly voice offering to help seemed to appear out of nowhere and Carol gave an involuntary jerk of surprise as until he spoke she hadn't even been aware of his approach. That quiet question of '_Show ya how to gut that squirrel properly so ya don't waste none_,' was the only thing he said the whole time he was with her. Carol thanked him politely and he shrugged off the thanks in a 'no big deal' gesture.

**Saw that smirk**… was at the CDC after he had finished the better part of a whole bottle of wine and had started on the dark rum. The mood was light and almost festive as Carl was playing his parent's off each other by requesting just a taster of the wine. Carol watched from her quiet corner as the young boy was granted his request and promptly spat it over the once clean tablecloth. Lori took his glass away and offered the remainder to Carol; who smiled faintly and shook her head in refusal.

_'Betcha ain't ever been drunk in yer whole life…'_ Daryl noticed her refusal and called down the table. 'Never developed a taste for wine, tastes too much like vinegar to me.' She called back softly and watched him smirk as he slid the bottle of rum closer to her.

'_Pour yerself a little of that into a glass of cola; guarantee ya won't find it like vinegar. Might be nice ta see ya get a little sloppy.'_ Carol poured a little of the rum into her glass of cola and took a hesitant sip.

_'Mmmm, nice – although I've been told I get a little loose once I've had a few._' Daryl merely smirked again as he exchanged glances with T-Dog and Dale and they all slid up the table; bringing more cola cans with them.

**Felt his touch**…that firm hold of his strong arms wrapped around her waist and preventing her from running toward the thing that used to be her baby. They fell to their knees on the gravel road in front of the barn on Hershel's property and Daryl had held her firmly against her back. Carol could feel him rubbing his hand up and down her arm in an attempt to keep her calm but it was as if she was encased in a block of ice and nothing would ever be able to get through. Slowly but surely though, his warm touch holding her securely began to seep through…in the end she found herself pulling away from him; feeling like it was a betrayal to enjoy his touch when her daughter's body lay just ten feet away.

**Saw him smile**… only a brief flicker across his clean face, but a rare smile it might well have been. He opened the screen door to enter Hershel's farmhouse; feeling stupid with his hair freshly washed and slicked back and wearing his last clean shirt. He looked around at the rest of the group congregating to discuss what to do with Randall and made a beeline for where Carol was sitting on the window seat. She looked up and smiled at his arrival…and he smiled back.

**Heard him laugh**…Rick, Carol, T-Dog and Daryl were waiting impatiently at the lower gate for Glenn and Maggie to arrive. This was the day that they were going to burn the bodies of the Walkers they had put down so far. Rick casually mentioned that Maggie and Glenn were probably still in the tower from the night before.

'_What, again? Hey, Short Round you comin'?_' Daryl called up to the tower and bit back a laugh when Glenn peered over the balcony, struggling to pull his t-shirt over his head and zip his fly at the same time.

_'Obviously not_,' Carol quipped drolly and Daryl could not hold back the laugh any longer, he nudged her with his elbow and that was enough to send the four of them into gales of laughter.


End file.
